Jaranwala police claim foiling child marriage

Bride, groom and their families taken into custody

FAISALABAD:

Police claimed to have foiled an attempt to marry off an underage girl in the Jaranwala area and took the bride, groom and their families into custody.

Jaranwala City police were reportedly informed that the child marriage was taking place in Chak No. 239GB, Basti Odian. The police were informed that the underage daughter of Abid Shah was getting married to Ghulam Murtaza, resident of Ada Hamand, Rodala Road and the groom had arrived at the bride's house.

On receiving the information, the police raided the place and took the bride, groom and their family members to the police station.

According to the police, the girl was being married off at an age brow the legal limit, while the girl's parents claimed that she was an adult. They also alleged that the police had barged into their house during the wedding and harassed the women. They said the higher authorities should take notice of the matter.

The Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2015 had increased the possible jail term for breaking the law to six months from one month and raised the potential fine to Rs50,000 from Rs1,000 for both parents and clerics.

Clerics, under this marriage restraint law, could face penalties for officiating at underage marriages with the move coming as authorities try to crack down on children marriage.

In Punjab, the legal marriage age is still 16 for girls and 18 for boys but marrying younger forces many out of education. Women marrying before puberty were also deemed at risk from pregnancies that could endanger their health and even lives.

In Punjab, the incidence of child marriage was 49% and, in 2017, 29.8% of married women in Punjab had gotten married before the age of 18.

There were, however, no reliable statistics on the total number of child marriages in the province as few cases were reported to the police and the government does not track the issue.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2020.